Oct 2012 Rolling Stock for South Africa / Spoornet _______

News on developments with a South African Flavour for MSTS - locos, rolling stock, routes etc. Screenshots should be no larger then 800 pixels wide and 600 pixels deep. No larger then 130k as well!
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Richard_Schmidt
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 21:01

Oct 2012 Rolling Stock for South Africa / Spoornet _______

Post by Richard_Schmidt »

Good afternoon
This seems like OLD questions but if one has to re-install for the ??????-times cannot remember how many times !!!!
I have spent a couple of days now browsing and searching the net to find files of South African rolling stock, but no luck as such. train-sim.com only has route-files and then for other sims but not for MSTS.
Any help ideas or where I can get them?

Thank you & have a nice day from a wet PE.

Richard
Niel Wilson
Posts: 23
Joined: 23 Apr 2010, 13:14
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
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Re: Oct 2012 Rolling Stock for South Africa / Spoornet _____

Post by Niel Wilson »

Hi Richard,

Trainsim.com hosts pretty much all of the South African MSTS content. Search the file library for keywords such as SAR, Spoornet, African, Africa etc. When searching goods rolling stock can be found in the "World Freight Cars" Section, passenger stock can be found in the "Passenger Cars" section, diesel locos can be found in the "World Diesel Locomotives" Section, electric locos can be found in the "Electric Locomotives" Section and Steam locos are found in the "World Steam Locomotives section. Routes would be found in the the routes section. The Basic File Search page will allow you to limit searches to one of the above categories.

The Natal Mainline V3a route can be downloaded with all the required rolling stock and activities. This route also makes use of proper 3'6" gauge track.

At this point some of the SA content creators are starting to move over to the new Rail Works Simulator in favor of the new graphics and other fancy stuff that Rail Works does.

Hope this helps,

Niel Wilson
MSTS SAR Content creator
Richard_Schmidt
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 21:01

Re: Oct 2012 Rolling Stock for South Africa / Spoornet _____

Post by Richard_Schmidt »

Hi Niel

Good Afternoon, & thank you for the prompt reply !. I shall try the search options as mentioned. I did a search selecting "all sections" and did not get many loco's + rolling stock. Does one need a Steam Acc for the Rail Works?
Will go and check their website and where does one get to purchase the program? We have a BT games but with only FSX & X-Plane. I/Connection is very limited as to simulators!!!
Thank you for the reply & help. :)

Have a nice day.

Regards
Richard Schmidt
Niel Wilson
Posts: 23
Joined: 23 Apr 2010, 13:14
Location: Gauteng, South Africa
Contact:

Re: Oct 2012 Rolling Stock for South Africa / Spoornet _____

Post by Niel Wilson »

Hi Richard,

Searching all sections will return everything which results in more than 150 files depending on the keywords you use. This means you have to sift through all the routes, activites and RW (Rail Works) stuff to find what you're looking for. Refining your search to a specific area of the file library will help.

Are you looking for anything in particular? or just whatever you can get your hands on?

I'm not one of those who has converted over to RW yet, so take the following with a big pinch of salt. As far as I know you do need a Steam account for RW. If Amazon.com ships to SA you might be able to purchase RW on disc. One of the problems with this is that RW likes to update itself on a regular basis so you'd still need an internet connection. Updates are somewhere in the region of 3 or 4GB (it effectively re-downloads everything). This causes a problem because until the update is complete you're unable to play at all. You may be able to get around this by ensuring that you're not online whenever you want to play. Apparently Steam does have an offline mode as well which may help as well.

Hope this Helps,

Niel Wilson
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Steve Appleton
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Joined: 23 Jan 2007, 14:14
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Re: Oct 2012 Rolling Stock for South Africa / Spoornet _____

Post by Steve Appleton »

I have Railworks, which has recently been updated by Steam and is now called Train Simulator 2013. I indeed created a Steam account and purchased and downloaded it from there. There is a basic standard version and also various premium packaged editions which include some extra scenarios and stock at a higher price.

The initial download is huge, several, several gigabytes, and takes forever on a slower connection. Mine took a day and a night on my old 384kb/sec line. Steam, when installed, runs automatically each time at computer startup (it could be disabled if you knew how). It logs into your account and automatically downloads updates for both itself and your installed games without so much as a question. RW updates are large (perhaps not as large as the initial install) and chew up bandwidth so if you are on cellphone data (3G, HSDPA or not) be prepared for a suprise huge bill. If you are on a capped ADSL line, be prepared to hit your cap without realising it and have to buy a top up! Steam is designed around first world countries with high bandwidth and unlimited internet access. Of course whilst the updates are in download, you find yourself wondering why your internet browsing and other downloads are so slooooow. The upside is that your simulator is always up to date and, bandwidth charges excepted, the updates are free.

You need to launch RW from the Steam app. The Steam app itself can be run up whilst not connected to internet and contrary to some information, RW can then be run without difficulty. Being on-line does confer a few benefits, such as the updates, a multi-player environment (I have never used that facility for RW and have no idea how well or if it works) and Steam also keeps track of how often and for how long you have run your RW.

RW itself I think is pretty good, albeit that some of the dynamic modelling is simplistic and poor (for example, signalling on an 80 mph line placed incorrectly and so close together that even if you hit the brakes immediately and hard as you approach a signal at caution you will never stop at the next danger signal). You may well get bored with the standard scenarions and want to add new routes and stock. Beware though that, like MS Flight Sim X, such add-ons from commercial developers (which generally seem to be the most complete and best -- they have to be to sell them) can each cost more than RW itself, making this an expensive hobby if you want variety.

BTW you also need a good fast PC to run RW. It is intensive and a graphics accelerator card is essential.

I personally prefer MS Flight Sim X essentially because there is a large amount of real, real-world stuff available (like proper charts, "airac" real-world navigation updates and real-time weather) which costs almost nothing and seriously enhances the experience taking it away from a game towards a realistic simulator. FS is much more realistic and not as limiting as a Train Sim. Commercially available add-on aircraft are reasonbly priced if you consider the precise and massive detail that has gone into them, right down to working panesl, instruments, flight computers, training manuals, checklists, etc. If you do enjoy FS, then I do recommend you join VATSIM http://www.vatsim.net (free) whose members aspire to create as realistic as possible multi-player scenarios including manned air traffic control at major airports and ATC areas around the world and implement proper flight planning and piloting procedures. The local SA VATSIM region, VATSAF http://http://www.vatsaf.com/, regularly organises manned local ATC and fly-ins for those who have become skilled enough and care to join in (not only from SA). FS has a much bigger following and has a much better, broader and more mature eco-system around it than RW.

The reality is that both RW (ITS 2013) and FSX, taken to the max, take up lots of time, block other more productive leisure persuits and do not earn any real money, so I personally have to stay away from them as much as I can.
"To train or not to train, that is the question"
Richard_Schmidt
Posts: 5
Joined: 07 Nov 2010, 21:01

Re: Oct 2012 Rolling Stock for South Africa / Spoornet _____

Post by Richard_Schmidt »

Hello
Thank you for all the input & info ragarding the Steam Account scenario. I also have Shipsim Extremes with a Steam Acc, but due to the Steam Acc I do not run the SSM EXTREME program anymore. I will put Railworks on the shelf for the meantime. I do have FS9 with a IVAO-account, but have not done any flights in the last 10 months, so my account has been de-activated. I own a copy of FSX but not installed for the reason that I have so many add-ons for FS9 including all PMDG (Incl the MD-11) models except the B747. I have all the Airbus add-ons but do not really fly them because I am a Boeing-man. I specialise with the B737-800 and am busy in getting into the B777-200/300LR. I normally fly flights with a duration of 1.0 - 2.25 hours, so that I don't sit in front of the PC all day. LOL :) I enjoy MSTS, and the only big problem that I have is that the program tends to "jerk" at intervals. This happens normally on an outside view, but then my PC is about 5.5 yrs old but still running OK. The other problem is having to re-install again & again !!. I also have copies of Activity Generator & Activity Master. I got it right to create 1 x activity with some good AI-traffic running on the Rosmead-line in SA. My "old" PC could run FSX when I purchased my copy then, so it is not that slow! I just need to get back into some of the programs I have including SH 3,4 & 5. ALso run an ATC program called London Control. I also have Train Dispatcher 2 & 3, Airlinesimulation business-program and a shipping program called Ports of Call, sorry I am not here to advertise any of the abovementioned programs but more to give a background on what I am involved in. :)
I would also like to post on this site that I shall be in the Pietermarizburg area during March 2013 from the 10 to the 21 March 2013, and would like to meet some folks there with simular interest, especially regarding the trains in that area.

Hope you all have a nice day & regards from a very WET PE.

Richard Schmidt
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